How Van Halen Explains the U.S. Government
This article is for subscribers only.
May 1 (Bloomberg) -- Right there on Page 40, in the“Munchies” section, nestled between “pretzels” and “twelve (12)Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups,” is a parenthetical alert so adamantyou can’t miss it: “M&M’s,” the text reads, “(WARNING:ABSOLUTELY NO BROWN ONES).”
This is the famed rider to Van Halen’s 1982 concertcontract. In a sentence fragment that would define rock-starexcess forevermore, the band demanded a bowl of M&M’s with thebrown ones laboriously excluded. It was such a ridiculous, over-the-top demand, such an extreme example of superstar narcissism,that the rider passed almost instantly into rock lore.